Agency fires tech, says San Francisco bridge safe

FILE - In this Dec. 10, 2007 file photo, work continues on the new eastern span of the Oakland-San Francisco Bay bridge seen from Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. The California Department of Transportation on Monday, Nov. 14, 2011 said it has fired a technician who falsified safety tests and was responsible for seismic testing to ensure the safety of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)
— AP

FILE - In this Dec. 10, 2007 file photo, work continues on the new eastern span of the Oakland-San Francisco Bay bridge seen from Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. The California Department of Transportation on Monday, Nov. 14, 2011 said it has fired a technician who falsified safety tests and was responsible for seismic testing to ensure the safety of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)
/ AP

SACRAMENTO, Calif. 
The California Department of Transportation moved swiftly Monday to try to reassure the public that the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and other highway projects around the state are safe, announcing it had fired a technician responsible for seismic testing on the bridge after an investigation found he had falsified safety tests on other projects.

The department announced it had begun the process to fire Duane Wiles and his supervisor, Brian Liebich, earlier this month. That revelation came after The Sacramento Bee reported over the weekend (
http://bit.ly/rV6Xrj
) that Wiles was accused of falsifying safety tests on several construction projects.

"There has been absolutely no evidence of any kind of any falsification of any data involving the Bay Bridge," Tony Anziano, the agency's toll bridge program manager, said during a conference call with reporters Monday.

Caltrans said it had reviewed all of Wiles' work dating to 2004 and found he falsified data on three projects: a Los Angeles underpass on Interstate 405; a bridge in San Bernardino; and an overhead freeway sign in Oakland.

Dougherty denied that the timing of the employees' firing was related to the Bee's report, saying state and federal investigations into Wiles' work were completed only recently. The employees were notified Nov. 8 that they would be fired in 10 days, he said.

But two state lawmakers said they still have many questions about the safety testing and why the employee stayed on the job for years after questions were raised about Wiles' work.

"Anyone who gets behind the wheel should take this very seriously," said Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, chairwoman of the Assembly Transportation Committee. "California motorists should never have to wonder if their government has done everything possible to keep them safe."

Caltrans officials first learned of possible falsified tests in September 2008, when another department employee spotted inconsistent figures while evaluating Wiles' data for a report, the newspaper reported. Another employee found other suspicious figures and urged his superiors to do a thorough investigation.

A supervisor issued a written reprimand to Wiles in April 2009, accusing him of a "critical and inexcusable breech of ethics," the Bee reported.

He later was reprimanded and reassigned to another position involving soil testing, "and he certainly was on a short leash," Dougherty said. Dougherty said the department began its first investigation within weeks of learning about possible problems.

A man who answered the phone at a listing for a Duane Wiles in Sacramento hung up Monday after the caller identified herself as an Associated Press reporter. A message left at that number during a subsequent call was not immediately returned.

The Bee reported that other department officials expressed concern that Liebich did not take seriously enough allegations that Wiles had falsified reports, but Dougherty said Liebich was fired for other activity reported by the Bee. The newspaper reported that Liebich directed technicians on state time and using state equipment to build, transport and install a steel gate and to build an A-frame structure on his property near Susanville.